[karan561]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7UaC-T5PcY&t=11s

The video starts off with a description of all the parts going in. I overhaul the cooling system (ECS Tuning Level 3 Kit) this is a precautionary measure highly recommended for the E46 as the cooling parts (Plastics, hoses etc) degrade over the years, Short throw shifter, New OE AC Parts to make it function back at 100% levels, Air Intake (aFe Magnum Force, stage 2) & more...



DO NOT Miss this segment where i demonstrate how good the Gearshift quality have become;



& finally on whats to come ...

[F150]

Wow, that short shift mechanism demo was superb. It is working butter smooth and it is very precise. When will see a video of you driving the car ?
Fixing the AC was a very pragmatic decision and I am starting to like your approach of fixing everything step by step in a single stage.

[karan561]

Originally Posted by F150

Wow, that short shift mechanism demo was superb. It is working butter smooth and it is very precise.

Indeed, the manual transmission was the primary reason of the purchase of this E46, i had visualised this before the purchase

Fixing the AC was a very pragmatic decision and I am starting to like your approach of fixing everything step by step in a single stage.

Thanks

[honda_dude]

A brilliant thread and a fantastic buy Karan. I just sold my 328i (e46) coupe and upgraded to the 320i (e90) here in New Zealand. After driving both the cars for a while I can confidently say that the e46 was way better in sheer driving pleasure.

The only reason for me to sell it was the car had an oil leak and it is very expensive to source parts and have the car repaired here. Works out much cheaper to trade it in for another car.

Wish you all the very best with your project and happy and safe motoring miles.

Regards
Vishal

[karan561]

Originally Posted by honda_dude

A brilliant thread and a fantastic buy Karan. I just sold my 328i (e46) coupe and upgraded to the 320i (e90) here in New Zealand

Pleasant to here here appreciation from a fellow e46 owner

Wish you all the very best with your project and happy and safe motoring miles.

Thanks Vishal

[karan561]

Update: A big consignment of parts has come in for the E46

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by karan561

Update: A big consignment of parts has come in for the E46

Attachment 1741076

wow! how do you manage import and clearance of such parts? Can you share some links to the sites you use to make purchases?

Wonder what all you would have been doing if you were residing in Europe or the US

good luck!

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

wow! how do you manage import and clearance of such parts? Can you share some links to the sites you use to make purchases?

Wonder what all you would have been doing if you were residing in Europe or the US

good luck!

ECS tuning ships to India and they ship it fast using FedEX. I bought a set of Bilstein B6 shocks from them the package arrived here lightning fast in a weeks time. They are bit expensive but fast and reputed.

Always nice to see packages arriving, larger the better

[karan561]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

wow! how do you manage import and clearance of such parts? Can you share some links to the sites you use to make purchases?

www.ecstuning.com

www.fcpeuro.com

^ These are the best websites from where you can order BMW or other German car stuff from.

Clearance is done officially once i receive the BOE.

Stick to FedEx

Wonder what all you would have been doing if you were residing in Europe or the US

If i were based somewhere in the US or EU, this project would have been completed by now.

BUT In India as you are aware its extremely difficult to do such a project, there's money, time, effort & a lot of patience involved. But God has been great & also have received good support from family & friends, BHPians & also the workshop (D.A.D).

good luck!

Thanks

Originally Posted by Sankar

Always nice to see packages arriving, larger the better

[karan561]

StopTech Big Brake Kit & Apex Racing Wheels arrive



18x8.5, APEX Light Weight wheels finished in Race Silver;



Cross Drilled Rotors & Red Caliper always works;



In LOVE with the calipers;



Extremely great build & supreme finish this Big Brake Kit by StopTech;



This is how they will look





Pads;

[karan561]

Some more Car Parts come in



All the rear bushings (about 16 of them) & front Control arms, bushings, link rods & tie rods;



Before the new Coilovers go in (which are on order), changing all the rubber components / bushings is always a great idea.
The parts i have ordered as you may notice are of all BMW OEM suppliers like Febi Bilstein, Meyle, Lemforder (Group of ZF) & have the respected BMW part nos. cross checked through www.realoem.com

[karan561]

This is a major update on Project E46 as in this video i give you an insight on all the new parts which will go in on the BMW E46 (328i);

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIsW2bvuY3E&t=1s

^ This video covers the description on the following parts;

1) OE Sport Control Arms & Bushings by Meyle HD
2) OE Link Rods by Meyle
3) OE Tie Rods by Febi Bilstein
4) OE Rear Bushings by Lemforder
5) Rear Subframe Re-Inforcement Kit by Turner Motorsports
6) StopTech Big Brake Kit
7) Apex Racing Wheels

[james]

Karan, ive been a silent follower of your build and love the way you are going about it. Since you are gonna make the car a real good handler, id suggest properly inspecting the swivel+universal joint in the steering column [part #32306761571]. These are made of rubber and are known to slowly fail over time resulting in a sloppy steering feel. A new piece will make the steering feel tight and precise.

Cheers!

[jalajprakash]

Originally Posted by karan561

^ This video covers the description on the following parts;

1) OE Sport Control Arms & Bushings by Meyle HD
2) OE Link Rods by Meyle
3) OE Tie Rods by Febi Bilstein
4) OE Rear Bushings by Lemforder
5) Rear Subframe Re-Inforcement Kit by Turner Motorsports
6) StopTech Big Brake Kit
7) Apex Racing Wheels

Hey Karan, could you please provide a written description as well? I don't have good internet reception at work and couldn't load the video.

[karan561]

Originally Posted by james

Karan, ive been a silent follower of your build and love the way you are going about it.

Thanks for breaking the silence & also for your appreciation for this build.

Since you are gonna make the car a real good handler, id suggest properly inspecting the swivel+universal joint in the steering column [part #32306761571]. These are made of rubber and are known to slowly fail over time resulting in a sloppy steering feel. A new piece will make the steering feel tight and precise.

Thanks so much for this special input, will get it done.

Originally Posted by jalajprakash

Hey Karan, could you please provide a written description as well? I don't have good internet reception at work and couldn't load the video.

Hello Prakash,

Most of the description is already done in Post #100 & #101 but still il elaborate further;

1) OE Sport Control Arms & Bushings by Meyle HD - Control arms usually take a lot of abuse from impacts and handling forces over the years (15+years in the case of my E46) hence it was a great idea to change them. Also with this Bushing were changed as well as it solves all the ride quality problems (clunks, shudder from the front when hitting bad patches/potholes etc).

2) OE Link Rods by Meyle - Over the years link rods take a lot of beating as they connect the suspension to the Anti Roll bars hence changed them to refresh the ride quality/handling.

3) OE Tie Rods by Febi Bilstein - Replacing the tie rod will eliminate any age related sloppiness in the steering.

4) OE Rear Bushings by Lemforder - Understandably over the years bushings wear out and do not provide proper support needed for the rear suspension & make the rear end feel sloppy + hear bumps and bangs as you travel over bad road, expansion joints etc. Hence i changed all the rear bushings at the rear.

5) Rear Subframe Re-Inforcement Kit by Turner Motorsports;

The E46 chassis has one issue at the rear mounting points of the subframe, which can rip out from their spots in the sheet metal. This happens because the rear differential transmits the torsional load from the engine through the subframe, then into the chassis. This constant loading and unloading weakens the sheet metal and causes it to fatigue and separate from the chassis. BMW tried to fix this problem in the E46 by placing a cross member on the front two mounting points of the subframe. This cross member keeps the front mounting points from having problems by placing the bushing and the stud in double-sheer, thus reducing the twisting action on the sheet metal. The unfortunate side effect of this is that the load from the front of the subframe now gets transmitted to the left rear of the subframe. This is where we have seen many failures of the chassis on low mileage street cars and race cars. BMW has also tried to prevent the issue by injecting foam into the open space between the underside of the chassis and the top of the trunk. This seems to work but that does not address the issues of the spot welds failing on the sheetmetal. It can also make any additional work there harder and almost impossible to weld against. Our reinforcement kit has proven over and over again to be effective and the easiest to work with in the long run. This product reinforces the chassis sheet metal at the subframe mounting points. We do this by thickening the metal and distributing the load over a larger area. This kit will save time when repairing the chassis, and is also strongly recommended as a preventative maintenance item.

^ This write up is by TURNER MOTORSPORTS.

This issue was more prone in M3 & earlier E46 models ('98-2000). My car is July 2001 around this time BMW had already addressed this issue. Also my car's rear subframe was perfectly fine but still i did this as a precautionary measure.

6) StopTech Big Brake Kit - StopTech are highly respected in what they do & hence had called in for a Big Brake Kit. They offered Aero Cross Drilled rotors, fully forged calipers & steel brake lines in this kit. Its going to take the braking to another level while doing so will make the car look heroic with its aggressive looks.

7) Apex Racing Wheels - The wheels are extremely high quality, light weight racing rims & are highly respected in the E46 & BMW fraternity.
Also they will clear the big brake kit well enough.
These rims are flow forged & are coded EC-7 by APEX.
18x8.5J (All 4), 35 Offset & finished in Race Silver.